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An Experimental Investigation of Performance and Emissions of
LPG as Dual Fuel in Diesel Engine Generator
K. Mohan Kumar*, Dr. D. Azad** *(Student of Thermal Engineering, Aditya Institute of Technology and Management, Tekkali.)
** (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Aditya Institute of Technology and Management, Tekkali.)
ABSTRACT The usage of diesel engine generating set (Gen set) increasing day by day where the places without connection
to power grid or emergency power supply when the grid fails. Worldwide dual fuel engines are becoming
popular because of high performance and low emissions. LPG with diesel is a proven technology in case of
vehicles, but in diesel engine power plants it is far so.
The proposed work is concentrated on higher load of Diesel Engine Generator with LPG as dual fuel by keeping
environmental concern. A test is conducted on performance of engine along with emissions at different
proportions of Diesel and LPG including 100% diesel. An experimental set up is made with simple
modifications on existing genset to supply LPG as secondary fuel into Diesel.
Keywords – Dual-Fuel, Emissions, Genset, LPG-Diesel and Performance.
I. Introduction A diesel generator is the combination of a diesel
engine with an electrical generator (often called an
alternator) to generate electric energy. Diesel
generating sets are used in places without connection
to the power grid or as emergency power supply
when the grid fails. Small portable diesel generators
(1 kVA to 10 kVA) may be used as power supplies on
construction sites or as auxiliary power for vehicles
such as mobile homes. In addition to their well known
role as power supplies during power failures, diesel
generator sets also routinely support main power
grids worldwide. In Asian and African
countries, the manufacturers make the Gen sets in
accordance with the ISO-3046 on dedicated diesel
fuel. But worldwide dual fuel engines are becoming
popular because of high performance and low
emissions.
LPG with diesel is a proven technology in case of
vehicles[1]. There are an increasing number of dual
fuel (LPG/diesel) vehicles operations worldwide.
They provide a relatively easy and inexpensive option
to higher polluting diesel engines in a wide range of
vehicles. The degree of sophistication of these
engines varies depending upon fuel control strategies;
however, they have proven reliable in many parts of
the world and continue to expand their market share,
particularly in regions where diesel pollution is a
major concern and health hazard.
1.1 Environmental Concern A serious concern related to diesel engine genset
is the emissions of Green House Gasses (GHG) which
may be linked to global climate changed. The
continuous progress for increasing engine efficiency,
lowering emissions and supplying in expensive fossil
fuels make it extremely difficult for any of the single
alternative fuels or alternative propulsion
technologies to displace the diesel engine genset [2].
1.2 Various Fuels for Genset The most common engines that have been used
for dual fuel operation are gasoline and diesel
engines. In these engines, a pilot fuel gasoline/diesel
is used to ignite a fuel mixture. These engines are
well suited for use of various alternative fuels. The
dual-fuel engines can be classified broadly into two
categories depending on the relative amounts of
gaseous and liquid fuel. Liquid fuel is mainly used as
a duel fuel with both diesel and petrol engines. Fuels
like ethanol, methanol etc are used for blending
purpose. Gaseous fuels like LPG and CNG are also
used as an alternative fuel to enhance the performance
and reduce the emissions. In SI engines in case of
fumigation there is a complete replacement of fuel
whereas various gaseous fuels can be used as dual
fuel in case of diesel engine. Fig 1.1 shows the
alternative fuels which are being tried out on genset
to convert them into dual fuel genset.
RESEARCH ARTICLE OPEN ACCESS
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figure 1.1 Alternative fuels for IC engines
The more common application use injection of
small amounts of liquid fuel to provide ignition to the
mixture. The bulk of the energy comes from the fuel
mixture components. Methodology of using duel fuel
on diesel engines is explained in Fig 1.2. Various
fuels have been tried out on these engines in the form
of blending and fumigation.
Figure1.2 Methodology of using duel fuels in diesel
engines
1.3 Fumigation
Injection of a gaseous or liquid fuel into the intake
air stream of an engine is called fumigation. The
alternate gaseous fuel burns and becomes a partial
contributor to the main power producing fuel. Fig 1.3
shows the two different ways of fumigation on CI and
SI engines.
In case of SI engines gasoline enters from inlet
valve. Thus in case if SI engines only one fuel is used
at a time. In case of SI engines fumigation is done by
complete replacement of the fuel. Fuels like LPG and
CNG are successfully used in gasoline engines.
Where as in CI engines, diesel fuel inlet nozzle is
used for the injection of gaseous fuel. In diesel
engines complete replacement is not worthwhile
because of starting problem of the engine with
gaseous fuel. For diesel engines dual fuel fumigation
is considered as a better worthwhile technology and it
is relatively easy to convert a diesel engine to dual
fuel operation because no or very less engine
modifications are required to convert a diesel genset
on dual fuel mode. Fuels like LPG and CNG are used
as dual fuel in CI engines but in case of CNG storage
space is one of the major concern [3]. Space
requirement is lot more compare to some of the other
fuels. Fig 1.4 shows the Storage Volume comparison
for different fuels for same energy output.
figure1.3 Fumigation process
II. Previous Work 2.1 Literature Review
2.1.1 [4] Karim et al., (1998) has reported that in
the dual fuel engines under low loads, when the LPG
concentration was lower the ignition delay of pilot
fuel increased and some of the homogeneously
dispersed LPG remains un-burnt, resulting in poor
emission performance. The information led to the
revealing the effects of blended fuel operation on heat
release rate, combustion duration, ignition delay,
cylinder pressure and BSFC. LPG under low loads
showed poor combustion. This was because of dilute
LPG air mixture resulting high CO and un-burnt HC
emission. 2.1.2 [5] Miller et al., (2006) analyzed LPG fueled
diesel engine using diethyl ether with exhaust gas
recirculation. A stationary four stroke, single
cylinder, direct injection (DI) diesel engine capable of
developing 3.7 kW at 1500 rpm was modified to
operate in HCCI mode. Diesel engine was operated
on 100% Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG). The LPG
has a low cetane number (<3), therefore Diethyl ether
(DEE) was added to the LPG for ignition purpose.
DEE proved to be an excellent ignition enhancer
(cetane number >125) and has a low auto ignition
temperature (160 .C). Experimental results shown that
by EGR technique, at part loads the brake thermal
efficiency increased by about 2.5% and at full load,
NO concentration reduced considerably to about 68%
as compared to LPG operation without EGR.
However, higher EGR percentage affected the
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combustion rate and significant reduction in peak
pressure at maximum load.
2.1.3 [6] Sethi V (2004) conducted experiment on
exhaust Analysis and Performance of a single
cylinder diesel engine on dual fuels. Different engine
exhaust emissions, namely, carbon dioxide (CO2),
carbon monoxide (CO), un-burnt
hydrocarbons(UHC), sulphur dioxide (SO2), oxides of
nitrogen (NOx) and unused oxygen (O2) were
compared using 100% diesel, diesel-kerosene blends
and air-LPG mixtures. With diesel-kerosene blends
minimum exhaust emissions were observed at 30%
kerosene blend. Exhaust gas emissions, namely, CO,
HC, and SO2 reduced by 40%, 18% and 19%,
respectively, when compared with 100% diesel
emissions. Slight increase in the NOx exhaust
emission (2.4%) was observed. With air-LPG
mixtures, minimum exhaust emissions were observed
at 20% LPG mixing. Exhaust gas emissions, namely,
CO, UHC, and SO2 reduced by 80%, 71%, and 21%,
respectively. However, 19% increase in NOx exhaust
emission was observed. Engine performance
improved and Brake specific fuel consumption
(BSFC) was observed to be minimal at 30% kerosene
blending and decreased by 3.7% as compared to
100% diesel value at the same brake power output.
BSFC was also observed to be minimal at 20% LPG
mix and decreased by about 20% as compared to
100% diesel value at the same brake power output.
The fuel operating cost reduced by 3.6% at 30%
kerosene blend and further reduced by 9.6% at 20%
LPG mixing with air.
2.1.4 [7] Vijayabalan et al., (2009) made an
experimental study on the Performance, Emission and
Combustion of LPG diesel dual fuel engine using
glow plug. A single cylinder vertical air-cooled diesel
engine was modified to use LPG in dual fuel mode to
study the performance, emission, and combustion
characteristics. The primary fuel LPG, was mixed
with air, compressed, and ignited by a small pilot
spray of diesel. Dual fuel engine had shown reduction
in oxides of Nitrogen and smoke in the entire load
range. However, it suffered from the problem of poor
brake thermal efficiency and high hydrocarbon and
carbon monoxide emissions, particularly at lower
loads due to poor ignition. In order to improve the
performance at lower loads, a glow plug was
introduced inside the combustion chamber. The brake
thermal efficiency improved by 3% in the glow plug
assisted dual fuel mode, especially at low loads.
Hydrocarbon (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), and
smoke emissions reduced by 69%, 50% & 9%
respectively. The presence of glow plug had no effect
on oxides of Nitrogen.
2.1.5 [8] Rao and Raju et al., (2010) performed
experiment on performance evaluation of a dual fuel
engine (diesel + LPG) to view of this and many other
related issues, diesel was by LPG. A 4-stroke, single-
cylinder diesel engine has been considered for the
purpose of experimentation. It was modified suitably
to run on the dual fuel mode. A LPG carburetor has
been incorporated on the intake side of the engine.
The fuel injection system was also altered so that it
injects only the pilot fuel. The performance of the
engine was evaluated at a constant speed of 1500 rpm
under varying load conditions for different
proportions of LPG energy. The LPG energy
substitution could be done up to 50% at lower loads
and up to 20% at higher loads. The engine
performance was better on 100% diesel up to engine
loads of about 35%. At higher engine loads, the dual
fuel mode was superior to the 100% diesel mode of
operation. This was true with regard to the emissions
also. The smoke density is considerably reduced on
dual-fuel operation, compared to that of 100% diesel
operation. At lower loads, for improved performance,
the engine could be operated on 100% diesel
operation. However for higher loads, the operation
could be switched over to the dual fuel mode. The
threshold load of transition from diesel fuel mode to
the dual fuel mode was found to be about 35%. Dual
fuel engines can be conveniently used in various
applications, particularly at higher loads.
2.2 Conclusion of Previous Work
According to the previous work, some of
works the thermal efficiency was improved, and in
some works emissions were improved. New emission
legislations (According to Ministry of Environment
and Forests 2014-INDIA) have forced the engineers
to reduce exhaust emissions like NOx, HC and smoke
etc. That is why of which research on alternative fuels
have picked up especially on fuels like CNG and
LPG. In last 10 years research on LPG as an
alternative fuel has picked up successfully both in SI
engines and CI engines. The main reason of LPG as
an alternative fuel is that not much of modifications
to the engines are required. In SI engines it can be
completely replaced gasoline where as in CI engines
it not possible to run engine on 100% LPG.
The broad areas of research on dual fuel LPG engines
can be summarized as follows.
1. Study of emission and performance analysis of
dual fuel diesel engine at different LPG and
diesel composition
2. Study of the effect of emission of diesel engine
with 100% LPG. Use of 100% LPG is not
beneficial in CI engines because of some
technical aspects.
a) Lack of spark ignition
b) More compression ratio of diesel engine
c) Low speed of diesel engine
So, for diesel engines it is better to run diesel engine
with composition of diesel and LPG. Blending of
additives like Di Ethyl Ether (DEE) has also been
used to improve the performance of the diesel engine.
From the literature survey it is concluded that (20-40)
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% blend of LPG with diesel helps to improve the
performance of the engine. Following are some of the
reasons which prompted do work on LPG fumigation
on diesel engines.
1. NO defined work with mutual consciences is
available on the effect of dual fuel (LPG + diesel)
on performance and emissions of the engine.
2. Performance optimization has not been
covered so far.
3. No reported work is available on diesel
engines till date on use of LPG kit on stationary
diesel engines.
4. Safety of the duel fuel testing equipment
has not been full proof (for e.g. in case of any
leakage of Gas supply from the pipe, the gas will
not shut off automatically)
III. Proposed Work 1. Conversion of diesel engine genset into dual fuel
genset.
2. Evaluation of dual fuel genset for performance
and emission on
a. Diesel fuel.
b. Dual fuel (LPG + diesel).
c. Optimization of dual fuel genset using a dual
fuel controller.
3.1 Engine Details
A Kirloskar made 3.7 kW, single cylinder,
four stroke, direct injection, water cooled, and 1500
rpm diesel engine with a compression ratio of 16.5:1
was used for the experiment. No major design
changes were made for making the diesel engine run
on dual fuel mode with LPG. Modification to the
genset had been made in such a way that genset can
run on 100% diesel and also on dual fuel mode with
LPG and diesel. The initial start to the genset was
provided with 100% diesel at all times.
3.2 Alternator Details
A standard data from Beri Electricals was
used for the selection of alternator.
1. Standard Alternator- Single Phase
2. Voltage- 230V (± 5%)
3. Frequency- 50Hz
4. RPM-1500
5. Power Factor- 0.8
3.3 Selection of LPG Kit
Kit had to be selected in such a way that it
should be able to work on diesel genset. Following
are the specifications on the basis of which kit was
selected
1. Cylinder volume (552 cc)
2. Pipe pressure (up to 13Mpa)
3. LPG Tank (up to 2Mpa)
4. Solenoid valve (up to 3Mpa)
Kit can work up to 400cc to 2000cc. LPG has a
working pressure of 1Mpa. Thus the Kit used fulfills
all the requirements of the genset. By taking care of
above specifications a kit was selected which can
fulfill all the above requirements.
3.4 Conversion of Diesel Genset on Dual Fuel
Mode Engine was made to run on dual fuel mode by
connecting LPG to the intake manifold with the help
of LPG kit. LPG fuel supply for dual operation
constituted of an LPG tank, vaporizer and a coolant
circulation system. Engine inlet pipe was connected
to LPG vaporizer through a rubber pipe. To
accomplish the connection a nipple was welded into
the air inlet. The location of nipple was kept closer to
the inlet port so to generate the vacuum to suck LPG
from vaporizer into the cylinder through inlet port.
LPG in vapor form from the evaporator was fed
through the air inlet manifold to the diesel engine.
The system required a 12V DC to activate. This was
provided with the help of 12V-3amp DC eliminator.
The function of this eliminator is to convert of AC
into DC. The required power to eliminator was
delivered from genset. LPG was filled in the tank
with the help refueling pump. Load on the genset was
applied by using different calibrated sources of
electric load. The load bank for applying load on
genset constituted of heaters and bulbs. Safety of the
apparatus was fully taken care of by using devices
like solenoid valve and multivalve. The material of
tank was same as the normal LPG cylinder. Thickness
of the cylinder was also the same as that of
conventional cylinders.
For measuring various parameters different
calibrated instruments were used. Exhaust readings
were taken by using the five gas analyzer and smoke
meter. Fuel consumption evaluation was done by
using weight machine. Minimum measuring capacity
of the weight meter was 5 gm for diesel and 20 gm
for LPG. Two separate weight machines were used
for taking the readings of fuel consumption. At every
stage rpm of genset was checked with the help of
tachometer. Actual representation of the Final
experimental setup prepared is shown in Fig 3.1.
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Figure3.1
3.4.1 Vaporizer Function of the evaporator is to transfer thermal
energy into the LPG and to reduce the LPG pressure
to much lower system pressure such that LPG
evaporates. (Evaporation of LPG is required to
improve the mixing with air prior to entering the
cylinder). The evaporation begins across the LPG
inlet valve and the gas expands into heated first stage
chamber (connected to engine coolant circulation).
The evaporator of the kit has two stage design. First
stage is responsible for evaporation and the heat
transfer into the fuel and the second stage for
regulating the pressure of LPG to the desired level.
Technical aspects of vaporizer used are presented in
table3.1. Fig 3.2 shows vaporizer used in the
experiment.
Figure3.2
Table3.1 3.4.2 LPG Solenoid Valve
Figure3.3
Fig 3.3 shows the actual solenoid valve used. Fuel
supply to the vaporizer is controlled by solenoid
valve. Solenoid acts as a safety valve. It cuts the
supply of the gas in case of pressure leakage or
accident. Table 3.2 describes some of the technical
aspects of gas solenoid valve used.
Operating voltage 12V DC
Max working pressure 3MPa
Operating pressure 1Mpa
Table 3.2
3.4.3 Multi Valve
Multivalve is a very important component in a Gas
Conversion Kit. It is fitted over LPG tank. It
constitutes of various mechanical instruments for
different functions. Functions of multivalve are as
follows.
1) Ensures gas refilling in the Tank
2) Adjusts the filling limit
3) Displays the tank level
4) Controls overflow with an overflow valve.
5) Stops gas flow for safety in case of disrupted
pipe to the engine
Due to applicable standards and for safety
reasons, the tank should not be over filled. The
maximum filling rate is 80% of the total capacity
while the remaining 20 % will be left for LPG vapor.
In order to stop refilling timely, the multi-valve is
equipped with a device, connected to a float, to cut
off LPG flow at maximum permissible level. Top
view of multivalve is shown in Fig 3.4.
Kind of fuel used Liquefied petroleum
gas
Function Pressure reduction
and converts it into
vapor form
Body Aluminum
Operating pressure 1MPa
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figure 3.4
3.4.4 LPG Tank
Tank used is of same material as that of normal house
hold cylinders. Tank is fitted with multivalve and a
refueling valve. Refueling valve has an inbuilt filter
which does not allow the impurities to go into the
cylinder. The maximum fill of the cylinder should
be 80% of the maximum capacity.
Technical description and of LPG tank is
given in Table 3.3. To store LPG safely, there are
some guidelines. It's important to remember that an
LPG tank is never really empty. When the tank is
filled, most of the LPG is under enough pressure that
it is in liquid form. But at safe pressures, not all of the
LPG is liquefied. A small amount is in gas form,
filling up the rest of the space in the tank. As more
LPG is used, the pressure decreases, leaving less LPG
in liquefied form and more LPG gas filling up the
remaining space.
Material used IS-6240
Tare weight 22.5 Kg
Maximum capacity 60 liters
Maximum pressure 2MPa
Outer diameter 315 mm
Thickness 2.9 mm
table3.3
3.5 Automatic Dual Fuel (Diesel + LPG)
Controller
By seeing the results it was clear that LPG
blends are economical at higher loads. At lower loads
use of 100% diesel is economical. So it was better if
the genset was run on LPG on higher Loads. To make
the system economical on a whole and to get rid of
the problem of switching on and off LPG, an
automatic system has been made. This automatic
system cuts of LPG supply at low loads and switch on
the LPG supply at higher loads. This test rig has been
set to run on LPG at 2000W.
3.5.1Convertor
figure 3.5 Current to voltage convertor
Circuit incorporated of current to voltage
convertor. The function of convertor is to deduce
voltage from alternating current. Convertor was
placed between the alternator and load, so to have the
full range of load passing through it (zero to
maximum). Fig 3.5 shows the actual convertor used.
The other folded copper wires were to make LPG
work at different load conditions.
3.5.2 Circuit Chip for Conversion
Fig 3.6 shows the block diagram of automatic circuit.
Convertor was further connected to full wave
rectifier. Function of the rectifier is to convert
alternating voltage into direct voltage. The converted
direct voltage has some alternating component which
was then purified with the help of capacitor. Direct
voltage from capacitor was then send to direct voltage
relay. Relay consists of NC (Normally Closed) and
NO (Normally Open) circuit inside it. (Relay: When
an electric current was passed through the coil,
movement of the movable contact or contacts either
makes or breaks a connection with a fixed contact).
Figure 3.6
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This system was designed to activate the LPG
solenoid valve when the load reached to 2000W. For
this a relay of 6V was selected. By testing the relay it
was found out that relay activated on 3.7V.
A 5.3V alternating voltage was generated by
convertor when a load of 2000W was applied. The
alternating voltage generated was then converted into
direct voltage with the help of rectifier with an (Root
Mean square value .7) output of 3.7V. This voltage
was sufficient to activate relay of 6V. The actual
model of developed circuit is shown in Figure 3.7.
figure 3.7
This circuit was further connected to solenoid
valve and eliminator through two output wires. One
wire was connected to solenoid valve and other with
eliminator. When the applied load reached up to
1500W the convertor was yet not able to generate
required voltage. But when the load reached to
2000W convertor was able to generate required
voltage to switch on LPG supply. When the load
decreased below 2000W LPG supply was again
automatically cut off. Thus a final experimental set
up was prepared in which LPG supply was made to
switch on at 80% load. Fig 3.8 shows the block
diagram of the automatic dual fuel genset.
figure3.8
1. Diesel Engine 2. Alternator 3. Radiator
4. Multivalve 5. Wiring 6. Vaporizer
7. Solenoid 8. Exhaust outlet 9. Air Inlet
10. Refueling valve 11. Electric Load
12. Eliminator 13. Copper Pipe
14. Water supply 15. LPG Tank 16. Diesel tank
17. V & I meters 18. Tachometer
19. Smoke Meter 20. 5Gas analyzer
21&22. Weight meters
23. LPG spray Vaporizer
3.6 Experimental Procedure The test was carried out at three different load points
at rated speed (1500 rpm) of the engine. Dual fuel
Genset was tested on 0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%,
100%, 120% loads. Following parameters were
evaluated at each load
1) Fuel consumption (g/s)
2) Power output (kW)
3) Speed (rpm)
4) Lambda, O2
5) Emissions of CO, CO2,NOx, HC and Smoke
The genset was started on diesel and to
measure the performance and emission of the genset,
it was allowed to run for 20- 30 minutes to bring the
engine oil temperature in steady state condition. First
of all fuel consumption readings on 100% diesel were
observed. The readings were measured from no load
condition (0% load) to over load conditions (120%
loads). Each reading of fuel consumption was for
30gms of diesel. On each load, fuel consumption
readings were taken four times and in the mean while
the exhaust parameters were observed with the help
of five gas analyzer and smoke meter. For every fuel
consumption assessment, emission readings were
observed three times. Engine rpm was also checked
with the help of tachometer. Power output was jotted
down with the help of voltmeter and ammeter. Once
all the values on diesel got accomplished, the
experiment was then performed for dual fuel mode.
The supply of dual fuel was controlled with the
help of LPG control valve. At no load genset was
allowed to run on 100% diesel. Then at 20 % load
LPG supply was switched on with the help of
eliminator. LPG was supplied to the system by
opening LPG control valve. LPG from the vaporizer
was sucked in by the cylinder piston at suction stroke.
For measuring the mass of LPG weight meter was
used. For 20 gm LPG consumption rest of the
parameters were observed. This procedure was
applied for all readings on dual fuel. The whole
experiment was conducted from 20% load to 120%
load. After completion of the readings on set (0-120)
the composition of dual fuel was changed with the
help of LPG control valve. Same testing procedure
was repeated for five different set of dual fuel
proportions. Then after getting all the required values,
these values were scrutinized for preparation of final
results.
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From the results it was found that performance on
dual fuel was only beneficial at higher loads. The best
upshots were established when nearly 70% of diesel
and 30% of LPG were used. At lower loads it was
beneficial to run genset on 100% diesel because at
low loads performance of the genset is much better
when run on 100% diesel and emissions were also not
high. Thus to make the system overall economical
and to make it user friendly a dual fuel controller was
made. Genset was tested on all the fuel modes by
using dual fuel controller following the same
procedure.
IV. Results and Discussion Experimentation was performed and
experimental data was obtained to investigate and
analyse the dual fuel genset using 100% diesel and
liquefied petroleum gas with diesel. Calculations of
genset performance and exhaust emission are derived
in order to obtain the statistical differences between
100% diesel and liquefied petroleum gas. Most of the
discussions emphasize on the comparison of exhaust
emissions and genset performance for 100% diesel
and liquefied petroleum gas at minimum and
maximum load condition at constant speed (rpm) of
the engine. During continuous running of genset for
given time period, overall performance of the genset
the Fuel consumption, lambda (for getting genset
performance), speed and exhaust gases such as NOX,
CO2, CO, and HC are studied and through which
emission characteristics and has been shown. The
variation of results appeared is according to load
operations and type of fuel used. In comparison with
diesel, LPG has lower emissions of smoke, NOx and
particulates but higher emissions of CO and HC.
(Cornel Benea & Adrian (2007))
The content of NOX and HC emissions are
measured in parts per million (ppm) while the
contents of CO2 and CO emissions are measured in
terms of percentage vol. The experiments were
performed at ambient condition.
4.1 Genset Performance Comparing the exhaust emissions for diesel, and
dual fuel using liquefied petroleum gas fuel, genset
performance criteria are important parameter to
determine whether liquefied petroleum gas is suitable
as a dual fuel to the compression ignition engines.
Genset performance is an indication of degree of
success. The discussions are based on Fuel
consumption, brake specific fuel consumption
(BSFC) and brake thermal efficiency (BTE).
4.2 Fuel Consumption
Variation of fuel consumption on different loads
for different compositions of fuel is shown in figure
4.1. With 30.37% LPG proportion of LPG fuel
consumption was .175g/s on 100% load which was
less than by 30% than that on diesel. LPG helped to
reduce the fuel consumption especially at higher
loads. Part of the initial trust was provided by the
combustion of LPG which reduced the ignition delay
period so that when the fuel does ignite it goes off
with a bang [**].Fuel consumption for 100% diesel
was found to be .1944 g/s and .25 g/s at 80% load and
100% load respectively. Thus seeing the graph 4.1 it
can be concluded that at initial loads overall fuel
consumption for dual fuel was more as compare to
100% diesel. The main reason for this can be
incomplete combustion of LPG because at low loads
lot of HC got wasted. From Fig 4.12 it can be seen
that at low loads HC emissions were high.
figure 4.1 fuel consumption (Diesel and LPG) at
different load percentages.
From the previous two graphs it can be seen that
(Dual fuel consumption by mass) approximately 20 to
30% by mass of LPG (at higher loads) was the best
ratio of the dual fuel.
4.3 Brake Specific Fuel Consumption
It is governed by the quality of combustion of fuel.
Even the fuel of higher calorific value gives lesser or
equivalent work output compared to fuel of
comparatively lower calorific value. It may be due to
higher HC emission or partial burning of fuel during
combustion. Brake specific fuel consumption was
calculated for evaluating performance using different
fuel blends.
Fig 4.2 shows brake Specific fuel consumption for
diesel was on positive territory till 80% of load with a
minimum of 380 g/kW-hr and then started to
increase. The reason for sudden increase in the BSFC
after 80% of load could be because at higher load
more losses occur in the engine which in turn
hampers the performance. From Fig 4.2 it is clear that
with the use of dual fuel BSFC improved and the best
results (approximately 70-30 diesel-LPG ratio) on
higher loads. BSFC improved by 30% at full load. It
can be seen from the graph that with dual fuel there is
an improvement in efficiency even at 100% load
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which was not the case with 100% diesel. LPG helped
to reduce the ignition delay which in turn reduce the
BSFC and improved the performance.
figure 4.2 fuel consumption at different load
percentages. 4.4 Brake Thermal Efficiency
Overall efficiency of the engine is the
measure of the engine performance. Higher the
engine efficiency means better performance by the
engine. The variation of brake thermal efficiency
against load for different proportions of LPG and
diesel has been shown in figure 4.3. It can be seen
that brake thermal efficiency of genset running on
100% diesel gradually increased from 8% to 23%
from 20% load to 80% load and then decreased to
22% and 20% on peak load and overload
respectively. For dual fuel mode in figure4.3 it was
observed BTE was less on low loads. High HC
emissions at low loads play a big factor in low
efficiency of the genset. But as the load increased
BTE for dual fuel also increased. Maximum BTE on
dual fuel was achieved for configuration of 69.63%
diesel and 30.37% LPG with an improvement of
nearly 30% at 100% loads. It kept on improving on
peak loads with a maximum of 31.22%. The reason
for improved efficiency was reduction in delay period
of pilot diesel. With dual fuel BSFC was higher
than that on diesel at low loads. This is because at
part loads fuel consumption for dual fuel is more.
Another thing which can be depicted from graph is if
the composition of LPG in dual fuel is increased
beyond a certain limit BSFC will decrease as can be
said from 52% diesel. Thus BSFC curve concludes
that it is beneficial to run the genset on dual fuel at
high loads.
figure 4.3 BTE at different Load percentages
4.5 HC Emissions
Emissions from LPG fuel contain only short chain
Hydrocarbon because of composition of fuel (C3H6
60%+C4H10 40%). They do not contain any toxic
components which are found in diesel hydrocarbon
emissions. However typical smell of hydrocarbon was
observed when genset was made to run on LPG at
different composition.
figure 4.4 HC emission at different Load percentages
It can be observed that the production of HC
emissions was higher in LPG operation especially
Combustion of 100% diesel produces little HC
emission. Fig 4.4 shows variations of HC emissions
with Load. At low loads HC emissions were least
only 21 ppm at 500 watts. Emissions from diesel
remained low throughout the different loading
conditions with a maximum of 41 ppm on overload
conditions. HC emissions form dual fuels were high
as compare to 100% diesel especially at low loads. At
low loads when the pilot fuel quantity is less, the
flame cannot propagate completely leading to
incomplete combustion and increase in HC emissions
and Another reason can be LPG pre-mixture is
scavenged to outside from the cylinder in the overlap
period of the valves of discharge dual fuel genset. At
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higher loads HC emissions from a maximum of 133
ppm at 20% load, reduced to 70 ppm on peak load
with the use of 69.63% blends of diesel.
4.6 NOx Emissions Nitrogen Oxide is generated from the combination of
nitrogen and oxygen under high temperature and
pressure conditions in the engine cylinder. Formation
of NOx is usually above 1300oC. NOx consists mostly
of NO and some nitrogen dioxide NO2. Nitrogen
Dioxide is a reactive gas very toxic for humans. NOx
emissions are also a serious environmental concern,
because of their ozone reactivity and important role in
smog formation. NOx can be reduced by decreasing
the combustion temperature. Diesel engine runs on
lean mixture. So the NOx concentration can be more.
Fuel like LPG helps to reduce the combustion
temperature inside the cylinder. At higher load, high
temperature and high oxygen concentration leads to
high NOX formation in the combustion chamber. For
NOx formation lambda (λ) is one of the factors which
affect the formation of NOX during combustion.
Lambda (λ) may be defined as the ratio of actual air
fuel ratio to that of stoichiometric air fuel ratio i.e.
[λ= (A/F)act/(A/F)sto]. Lower lambda means rich
mixture and higher lambda means lean mixture.
Fig 4.5 shows the variation of NOx emissions
with genset load for different fuel modes. At low
loads the NOx emissions were less for 100% diesel as
the load increased NOx emission increased, to a
maximum of 1150 ppm at 120% load for 100%
diesel. When LPG was supplemented for some of the
diesel, NOx emissions reduced. The emissions at low
load reduced to 13 ppm at 52% blend of LPG
compare to 54ppm on 100% diesel. Emissions
reduced to 475 ppm when maximum blend of LPG
(48% LPG) was used. At 69.63% diesel blends NOx
emissions were a minimum of 29 on no load and a
maximum of 770 ppm under overload conditions.
This can be attributed to cooling effect produced by
LPG in the combustion chamber which in turn
decreased the NOx emissions because of absorption of
latent heat of vaporization during phase change of
LPG from vapor to gaseous form or because of peak
combustion temperature with the use of LPG are low.
From the curves it can also be concluded that with
increase in the LPG composition there is a reduction
in NOx emissions.
figure 4.5 NOx emissions against load at different
percentages of diesel
4.7 Smoke Emissions
Black smoke contains carbon particles from fuel
molecules that have broken down but have not burned
completely. In diesel gensets, black smoke means
excess fuel in the combustion chamber. Hartridge
Smoke Unit (HSU) was used for measuring smoke
from diesel genset. Main reason for smoke from
diesel genset is free carbon which appears to be
normal constituent of diesel exhaust throughout the
entire operating range. The most dense and
objectionable smoke is produced by operation at fuel
air ratio where there is little or no excess air for
combustion.
figure 4.6 Smoke emission against diesel at different
load percentages
Diesel genset produces very less smoke at no
load but as the load gradually increased the smoke
emissions also increased. From Fig 4.6 it can be
observed that at 100% load, emissions reached to
85.3% but when LPG was used with diesel, exhaust
emissions came down by 25% at full load at 69.63%
of blend of diesel. Genset operated with LPG exhibits
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a significant reduction in smoke at all the loads. This
is mainly because LPG has a lower carbon/ hydrogen
ratio, so smoke formation is less [9]. Moreover LPG
contains low molecular weight as well as lesser
number of carbon to carbon bonds typical petroleum
based hydrocarbon fuels. A secondary reason which
could have contributed for reduction in exhaust could
be reduction in fuel consumption when dual fuel was
used.
4.8 CO2 Emissions CO2 is directly related to the quality of combustion.
Emissions of CO2 have become more important due
to their contribution to green house effect. CO2 has
higher heat capacity and it serves as a heat-absorbing
agent during the combustion. As load increased the
emission of CO2 also increases because of complete
combustion of fuel at increased load. The complete
combustion of HC produces CO2 and water. It is a
colorless, odorless and non-inflammable gas. It is not
considered as engine pollutant and therefore no limits
of emissions have been specified. It is a principal
constituent of exhaust gas. Variation in CO2 levels for
LPG mode operation with different percentage of
dual fuel is shown in Fig 4.7. It can be observed that
the CO2 emissions from diesel operation ranges from
1.4 % by volume at no load to 4.8% at full load in
case of 100% diesel whereas in the case of dual fuel
operation it ranges from 1.3% at no load to 3.4% at
full load with 70% diesel blends. With the use of dual
fuel CO2 decreased on all the load percentages for
different blends of fuel. Reason for reduction in CO2
for LPG operation compared to diesel operation can
be due to lower carbon to hydrogen ratio of LPG.
figure4.7 CO2 emissions against load at different
percentages of diesel
4.9 CO Emissions
CO is a colorless odorless but very poisonous gas.
Maximum CO in generated when engine runs rich.
CO is produced when the combustion temperature
inside the cylinder is 800oC. Poor mixing, local rich
regions, and incomplete combustion will always be a
source of CO emissions. At low loads the mixing of
LPG and diesel is not convincing. CO emissions are
the result of incomplete combustion of carbon. In
other words, the fuel mixture had been compressed
and ignited, but could not complete the combustion
process. CI engines generally run on lean mixture so
the CO emissions are low. Richer mixture is required
during starting or when engine accelerates. Even
when intake mixture is lean or stoichiometric some
CO will be generated in the engine. The ideal reading
for CO is 0%. A normal reading for CO is usually
around .25 to .75% by volume with 1.2% being the
failure mark (Dennis Haynes). When genset was
made to work on dual fuel CO emissions got
increased very early at low loads. The variation of CO
emissions at various loads for diesel and LPG
operation is shown in Fig 4.8. It can be observed that
the production of CO emissions is higher in LPG
operation, especially at low loads because at low
loads when the pilot fuel quantity is less, the flame
cannot propagate completely leading to incomplete
combustion and increase in carbon monoxide
emissions. The emission levels of CO did not increase
beyond the safe limit [9].
figure 4.8 CO emissions against load at different
percentages of diesel
4.10 FUEL COST COMPARISON
The cost price of diesel and LPG were taken on Aug
03, 2014 from IOCL and Gail India respectively.
From the table 4.1 it can be concluded that cost of
diesel is less as compare to LPG. Figure4.32 shows
the cost of fuel consumed in Rs/hr at different loads.
It can be interpreted that fuel consumption for dual
fuel is less specially at higher loads. At
approximately 70% diesel proportion compare to
100% diesel there was 22% and 33% reduction in
cost when the genset was made to work on 100% and
120% load respectively. At lower loads it is
economical to run genset on 100% diesel. Graph also
tells that beyond a certain proportion (beyond 40%
LPG with 60% diesel) of LPG in the in dual fuel dual
fuel can be costly than 100% diesel.
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Type of fuel Cost of fuel
Diesel 62.30(Rs/liter)
LPG 69.85(Rs/kg)
Table4.1 Comparative analysis of fuel price(IOCL)
figure 4.9 Cost of fuel against load at different
percentage of diesel
V. Conclusion
A comprehensive experimental work on the
performance and emission measurement of diesel
genset and to convert it into dual fuel genset with the
help of LPG kit has been carried successfully. The
results obtained during experiment shown the
feasibility of LPG as dual fuel with diesel fuel to
replace conventional diesel are very high as it reduces
the major pollutant emission gases such as nitrogen
oxides, smoke and carbon dioxide. It has been
observed that dual fuel has shown a better overall
genset performance and reduction of NOX. Important
conclusion from the study is 70% Diesel & 30% LPG
as the best suggestible Dual fuel blend at more than
70% up to 120% Load.
5.1 Scope of Present Work
1. Through the present work it can be concluded
that dedicated diesel can run on dual fuel using
LPG and diesel successfully.
2. Diesel genset when run on dual fuel shows better
result as compare to only diesel. Not only
emissions were reduced, the fuel consumption
also decreased.
3. A LPG kit has been installed for the first time on
a constant rpm engine successfully.
4. In terms of fuel consumption LPG is beneficial
only at higher loads so an automatic dual fuel
controller has been attached successfully to give
the best fuel economy.
5. Running Cost of the dual fuel genset is less at all
the loads compared to 100% diesel and dual fuel
genset. At peak load cost of fuel consumption is
22% less than that of a 100% diesel genset.
6. From economic and efficiency point of view best
results were obtained with approximately 30%
LPG and rest diesel. At this composition BTE
and BSFC improved by 30% at full load
respectively.
7. Emissions with the use of dual fuel reduced
considerably on all the loads. Emissions such as
NOx & smoke reduced by 33% and 28% at 100%
load with use of 30% LPG blends.
8. With the use of dual fuel genset can work on all
the loads within the permissible limits of
emissions as notified by the Environment
(Protection) Amendment Rules where as with use
of 100% diesel this very genset can run up to
80% of load.
9. Dual fuel genset is applicable for all the
applications which a diesel genset can fulfill.
5.2 Future Scope of Work
In the present research work conversion of
single fuel into dual fuel has yielded promising
results. However better results could have been
obtained on a new genset.
1. More research can be done to improve the design
of the LPG intake system of the genset so to
reduce the HC emissions from the genset; a
system can be developed which can maintain the
same proportion of diesel and LPG all the time.
2. LPG with some type of additives can be tried as a
dual fuel with diesel…
3. The concept of present system could be extended
with some other fuels such as CNG and methane.
4. Simulation can be performed in more detail on
distribution of heat transfer in the combustion
chamber, so that a deeper understanding on the
combustion process can be developed. For
instance heat transfer model can be used to
simulate heat losses from the compressed gas to
the walls or to direct the possible fuel reductions
left after combustion.
5. Beside that other emissions from the genset
exhaust such as particulate matter (PM) and
sulphur dioxide (SO2) should also be measured
using more advanced gas analyzer for both diesel
and LPG fuel gensets, so that any by-product of
LPG can be determined and controlled.
6. The liquid injection of LPG may also be tried for
the concept demonstrated in the present study.
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